A Little History

Full Swing Textiles started out in the mid 1980's as a little vintage furnishings and accessories shop in Newport, RI. The owner of that little shop, Michele Mancini, loved collecting vintage textiles and over the preceding 25 years had amassed quite a collection. Vintage barkcloth from the 1940’s and 50’s was one of her specialties.

 

It was right about that time, in the mid 1980’s, that the popularity of vintage textiles experienced a significant resurgence in America and people began traveling from near and far to peruse the Full Swing Collection and buy what they could. It wasn't long before the collection that had taken 25 years to amass, was significantly depleted. Then, in 1986, Michele was made aware of 16,000 yards of virginal vintage fabric that was found in the storage rooms of a store that had closed in 1955. Wow! What happened next was quite a scary leap of faith: she purchased the entire lot!

 

At the time, 16,000 yards was thought of as a lifetime supply. But it wasn't to be. That "lifetime supply" became hot property once word began to spread among Full Swing’s regular customers and after receiving coverage in HOUSE BEAUTIFUL and METROPOLITAN HOME. It wasn’t long before everyone who was interested in vintage textiles knew about the mother lode of brand new, old stock, vintage fabric being offered for sale at a small retail store called Full Swing in Newport, RI. The phone began ringing off the hook. Hollywood homemakers, museums, movie production companies, you name it, they all wanted some of the limited supply. It was astounding how many people from all over, shared the affection for these quirky, boldly graphic barkcloth creations from the past. In less than 2 years, that “once-in-a-lifetime” supply was all but gone!

This put Full Swing at a crossroads. The demand for vintage textiles was growing while the end of the supply was clearly in sight. With no place else to acquire thousands of yards of new old stock, Full Swing took the natural next step and began looking for ways to reproduce these vintage fabrics.

The most obvious problem was that these antique fabrics were printed on barkcloth, which hadn’t been produced in the US since 1952. "Barkcloth" is a generic term used in the textile industry to describe the nubby, bark-like texture of a 100% cotton open crepe weave that became very popular during the 1940’s and 50’s. After much research, a textile mill was found in the U.S. that could still weave the heavy textured soft cotton fabric.

To this day, this original style 19 oz. barkcloth is still woven exclusively for Full Swing in the exact style found in the antique fabrics. It is a very dense and heavy weave that few manufacturers are willing to produce due to the production costs and associated finishing and printing challenges. But ask anyone about the quality of Full Swing’s barkcloth and you’ll hear the similar response: authentic, luxurious, durable, heavy, and the highest quality – the real thing! Full Swing’s original creative vision was that these glorious and distinctively American styles needed to be lifted out of their pigeonholed "retro" status and be recognized as true American classics. That vision was achieved through the instant popularity of Full Swing’s first patterns based on American textile heritage that debuted in 1988. Those patterns are still in the line today and are still some of our customers’ favorite patterns, Carmen Miranda, Hollywood Plumes, Yippee-Ei-O, etc., proving the staying power of superior classic design.

 

Over the years, there have been many additions and changes to the line, but outstanding quality, great colors, and fun patterns have always been Full Swing's first design. We hope you share our original vision, and feel as strongly as we do, that these vintage inspired, authentically woven American classics will always have a place whenever the application calls for lifestyle enhancing fun fabrics - where no substitute will do – in Full Swing.